Vienna - The price for crude oil

Vienna  - Martin Graf says he "respected" the political views of an Austrian neo-Nazi leader. In a televised interview, he declines to say explicitly that Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

An Austrian lawmaker for a total of 10 years, Graf is now seeking one of the nation's top political posts after dramatic election gains made his Freedom Party the third-strongest force in parliament.

Surging support for the party once led to prominence by far-right firebrand Joerg Haider has focussed attention on its current leaders - and its right to name one of two deputy parliament presidents.

Vienna - Economists further lowered their growth forecasts for Austria for this year and 2009 on Thursday, saying weakening growth in the Unites States, high oil prices and the strong dollar would affect the economic climate.

The independent institutes WIFO and IHS lowered their growth rate projections for 2009 to 0.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively, down from earlier estimates of 1.4 per cent and 1.9 per cent.

Both institutes set this year's growth projection at 2.0 per cent, a downward revision from WIFO's 2.3 per cent and the IHS projection of 2.2 per cent made in June.

In 2007, the Austrian economy had grown by 3.1 per cent.

Vienna - Austria on Thursday extradited a former Croatian general for trial on embezzlement charges in his homeland, news reports said.

Vladimir Zagorec, 44, a weapons buyer for Croatian forces during the Balkan nation's 1991-95 war of independence from Yugoslavia, was handed over to Croatia after the Austrian constitutional court threw out his appeal against extradition, Austria's APA news agency said.

Considered one of Croatia's richest men, Zagorec was arrested in Vienna on September 26 after authorities considered him a flight risk. He was placed on a plane to the capital Zagreb on Thursday, Croatia's HINA news agency reported.

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countrie